House of the Dragon: Paddy Considine opens up about episode eight’s big plot development

Spoilers follow for ‘House of the Dragon’ episode eight

House of the Dragon star Paddy Considine has unpacked the big moment from episode eight.

The latest episode of the hit Game of Thronesspin-off aired on Sunday night (9 October) in the US, arriving in the UK on Monday morning.

Spoilers follow for House of the Dragon episode eight – you have been warned!

The major plot development in the episode, titled “The Lord of the Tides”, saw King Viserys (Considine) pass away after a long, gruelling illness.

“I think it’s very noble and dignified how he goes,” Considine said, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “He’s suffering terribly from an affliction. He basically gets a form of leprosy that creeps into [his] body, his bones start to fail him. His lungs start to fail him. He’s just dying a slow and horrible death.

“By the end of it, he looks like an old man. He’s not! He’s a young man. He’s only so many years older than his brother, Daemon. But it’s aged him. And it’s a metaphor for what power does to people, even though he doesn’t use it for his own personal gain.

“He doesn’t get drunk on the power, he’s responsible,” he added. “But the demands of being a king take their toll on the physical body.”

You can read The Independent’s recap of what happened in the latest House of the Dragon episode here.

One of the series’ directors also recently revealed that one of the biggest moments from episode eight was, in fact, an accident.